Age: 18-36 months (coloring page instead of craft), 3-5 years (with craft) This school year in storytime I decided to use the alphabet to give me inspiration for themes. So this week, E is for Eyes! 1) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner My current opening song that we sing acappella every week. I start by asking them to show me their glasses and their book so that they remember the signs. We sing it through twice, then I'll ask them to quietly put their "books" in their lap. These are my glasses (make the letter o with each hand) And this is my book (hands together) I put on my glasses (put "glasses" over eyes) And open up the book (open book hands) Now I read read read (hold book up in front of face like reading) And I look look look (put glasses over eyes and look around room) I put down my glasses and… (lower glasses) WHOOP! Close up the book. (clap as if closing a book quickly) 2) Mystery Box This week I put in a big googly eye. 3) Baby Duck and the Bad Eyeglasses - Amy Hest The kids sat really quietly through this one. I saw many sad faces when I emphasized how Baby Duck felt about her glasses. None of the kids wear glasses yet, but many of their parents/grandparents do. 4) Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes I had to do this song really slowly for my younger kids, helping them figure out where their different body parts were. 5) Look at Your Eyes - Paul Showers A nice simple, non-fiction book about the parts of the eye (iris, pupil). I clipped a few of the pages together. 6) I Spy with my little eye Our club room has a beautifully painted mural around the top of the walls. A local artist originally painted it in the 1960s, then touched it up in the 90s. The kids are always looking at it, so I thought I'd play a little game of I Spy with them. I asked them to look around and find a frog, basketball, rainbow, turtle, and dinosaur. 7) Song – We are the Dinosaurs - Laurie Berkner By I-Spying a dinosaur last, it led right into my kids' favorite song! 8) Eye Guess - Phyllis Limbacher Tildes A neat lift-the-flap book having kids guess which animal they see based on their eyes. Very realistic pictures. 9) Song & Rhyme Cube Twice in each class: If You're Happy and You Know It & Hey Diddle Diddle (18-36mo.) 5 Little Monkeys & I'm a Little Teapot (3-5yr.) 10) Close Your Eyes - Kate Banks Unfortunately this one didn't go over well at all. It's a cute book, I love the illustrations and the concept (when you close your eyes it may be dark but you can "see" whatever you choose to see), but it was over the heads of the kids. 11) E is for Eyes coloring page (18-36 mo.) or E is for Eyes craft (3-5 yrs) Wow, did I really do 11 things this week?! This was a super simple craft that gave me a chance to use up the weird colored (red, purple, pink, yellow...) googly eyes that I found in my closet. I cut out the letter E and they just glued on whatever eyes they wanted, wherever they wanted. Other "eye"-deas :) Whose Eyes are These - Peg Hall I Can Read with My Eyes Shut - Dr. Seuss Little Donkey Close Your Eyes - Margaret Wise Brown